CARADON are through to the quarter-final of the England Hockey Mixed Cup following a thrilling penalty shuffle shoot-out victory over National League club Bristol Firebrands on Sunday at Lux Park.

Both sides started the game well, but it was the Cornish that took the lead inside 15 minutes as a counter-attack ended with Ben Hedley finding Tyler Walsh who made no mistake.

This seemed to wake the Bristol team up and they pushed forward with even more determination and scored twice before the break through penalty corners.

Caradon knew they could get more goals and played with an increased freedom. Libby Walsh, Tom Haigh and Amy Scott were finding good spaces to link play and with the security of Tom Walker playing in a new central role, Caradon had excellent spells of possession.

The equaliser eventually came through good play from Katie Oliver and Walsh with the ball ending up with Hedley to stroke home a classy finish.

Bristol continued to play attacking hockey, Dan Harris was called upon to make some timely saves but could do nothing to stop a powerful strike that again gave the visitors the lead.

With minutes ticking down, Caradon withdrew the keeper and threw everything forward in a desperate hunt for the equaliser. Evan Spencer was the player that made the most of the extra outfield option, bursting his way into the circle to finish past the stunned keeper. With one minute remaining on the clock Bristol forced a final penalty corner, but the resilient defence stood firm.

Final whistle and penalty shuffles ensured good value for money for the supporters who then saw Harris put on a masterclass in how to save penalties as Bristol failed register any of their first four, leaving Walsh and Spencer to hold their nerve and set up a trip to Rugby in the last eight in April.